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Pune civic body to appoint 200 staff for infectious disease control

ByVicky Pathare
Oct 04, 2024 08:58 AM IST

The PMC insect control department has 814 approved posts, with 514 vacant. Of the 300 filled positions, 205 are working in the field

Following spike in vector-borne diseases, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to appoint 200 contractual field staff for surveillance and containment activities, officials said.

Dr Rajesh Dighe, PMC assistant health officer and head of vector-borne diseases programme, said that the proposal to hire 200 contractual staff for the insect control department was pending since last three years. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)
Dr Rajesh Dighe, PMC assistant health officer and head of vector-borne diseases programme, said that the proposal to hire 200 contractual staff for the insect control department was pending since last three years. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

The PMC insect control department has 814 approved posts, with 514 vacant. Of the 300 filled positions, 205 are working in the field. The department conducts surveillance, containment and management of vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, filaria, kala-azar, Japanese Encephalitis, chikungunya and Zika.

Dr Rajesh Dighe, PMC assistant health officer and head of vector-borne diseases programme, said that the proposal to hire 200 contractual staff for the insect control department was pending since last three years.

“The municipal commissioner approved the proposal considering the rise in vector-borne diseases reported in the city,” he said.

According to PMC, 294 dengue, 311 chikungunya and 100 Zika virus cases have been reported in the city till October 3 this year.

“The work order of these staff has been issued on Monday and a few of them have already joined duty. They will conduct house-to-house surveys in areas that have reported infectious diseases, follow-up cases, track their close contact and conduct tests. The surveillance and containment activities can be done on a mass scale with the help of the new appointees,” he said.

A senior civic official on condition of anonymity said that conducting entomological surveys and activities like fumigation and spraying insecticides have been a challenge due to shortage of staff.

“The PMC area has increased after the merger of 34 villages and the city has grown exponentially. The existing staff were overloaded with work this monsoon, and it could lead to compromise in quality of service,” he said.

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